Adolescent nutrition and physical activity in low-income suburbs of Abidjan, Côte d’lvoire: the gap between knowledge, aspirations and possibilities

Abstract

Objective: To explore adolescents’ perceptions, knowledge and behaviours regarding nutrition and physical activity in low-income districts of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, taking into consideration their caregivers’ perspectives. Design: Two investigators conducted six focus group discussions. Setting: The study was carried out in two low-income suburbs, Yopougon and Port-Bouët, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Participants: Adolescents and their caregivers were recruited into the study via local head teachers and heads of settlement. Results: Overall, seventy-two participants, including forty-six adolescents and twenty-six caregivers, took part. Participants demonstrated good nutrition knowledge, relating nutritional health to a balanced diet and hygiene. Sustained physical activity was reported. However, adopting good practices was challenging due to participant’s economic circumstances. Their environment was a barrier to improving health due to dirtiness and violence, with a lack of space limiting the possibility to practice sport. Adolescents and their caregivers differed in their response to these constraints. Many caregivers felt powerless and suggested that a political response was the solution. Alternatively, adolescents were more likely to suggest new creative solutions such as youth-friendly centres within their community. Conclusions: Participants were aware that their nutritional habits were not in line with what they had learnt to be good nutritional practices due to socio-economic constraints. Physical activity was part of adolescent life, but opportunities to exercise were restricted by their environment. Strategies for improving adolescent health in these settings need to be developed in collaboration with adolescents in a manner that accommodates their opinions and solutions.

Safe spaces for beneficiaries of a combination HIV prevention intervention for adolescent girls and young women in South Africa: access, feasibility, and acceptability

“…By integrating these guidelines into a coherent conceptual framework, we can acknowledge and affirm that children, adolescents and young people pursue pleasure, self-directed activity, and exploration as part of their development, and that to programme effectively we need to recognise and respect this. Socio-economic status and the physical environment in which adolescents and young people live enables or constrains their capacity to adopt good nutritional habits and practice play/sport/exercise [43]. The lack of safe spaces has been identified as a key barrier to physical activity practices, amongst young people in sub-Saharan Africa (Jesson et al, 2020).…”

“…The lack of safe spaces has been identified as a key barrier to physical activity practices, amongst young people in sub-Saharan Africa (Jesson et al, 2020). Research amongst young people in resource constrained communities in sub-Saharan Africa has highlighted the need for youth-friendly safe spaces not only to practice sport but also to socialise in a safe environment, which would also serve to create an enabling environment for young people's personal development and empowerment [43].…”

Relationship among Food Intake, Dietary Habit and Immunity among Different Age People in West African Countries during the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…Furthermore, despite good knowledge of nutrition and health, the majority of adolescents in the low -income suburb of Abidjan still participate in unhealthy nutritional behaviors like consumption of sugar dense and fat-rich snacks which have been implicated in 17.2% prevalence of impaired fasting glycemia and 0.4% prevalence of diabetes amongst adolescents. Factors that have been implicated in the dietary habits of adolescents are socio-economic status as most healthy foods are quite expensive with the cheap options being energy -dense but nutrient poor while the quest for greater independence is the bane of some [65].…”